Shopping bag holder and carrying apparatus

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a shopping bag handle that can be used with a plurality of bags minimize discomfort to the person carrying the bags. This minimization is accomplished through a design that minimizes shock, prevents contact of the bags handle with the hand of the person carrying the bags and further may use a back of wrist stabilizing surface. When the handle is used with a plurality of bags simultaneously, the chances of the contents of the bags being disgorged while the bags are being transported in a vehicle are greatly minimized.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a flexible handle bag holder and more particularly to a plastic shopping bag holder.

BACKGROUND

When a person purchases items at a store, one or more shopping bags of some type are used by that person to carry the items home. If the handle is of thin string or even a plastic loop and the items being carried are weighty, the handle can cut into or otherwise severely irritate the fingers of the hand(s) used to carry the bag(s). This irritation may extend to the sides of the hand or outer fingers as well as to the inside of the hand. When walking on uneven surfaces, while carrying a weighty bag, the shifting weight of the bag can cause stress on the arm of the person carrying the bag as well as sometimes stressing the bag handle to the breaking point. Also, shifting of the bag(s), while walking on the uneven surfaces is hard to control. If one has multiple bags packed with one or more items and uses a vehicle to traverse part of the distance to a given destination, such as home, the opening at the top of the bags may allow the packed items to disperse from the bags when the vehicle starts and stops if the handles are not kept in an item retaining position. Further, even if the bag handles are kept in an item retaining position, the bags may still slide or roll in the vehicle carrying space when the vehicle is accelerating or decelerating. Once at the destination and the bags are unpacked, it may be appropriate to find a place to store commonly used plastic bags, provided by many stores for the customers convenience, for recycling purposes.

There are various bag handle holders on the market such as the one shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,926 issued Jul. 9, 1991. However all bag handle holders known to the applicant fail to provide a solution to one or more of the problems referenced above. Thus it would be desirable to have access to a bag handle holder that provides the capability of solving the problems mentioned supra.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises a bag handle holder that may be used to improve the quality of life of a person who must carry one or more weighty shopping bags.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and its advantages, reference will now be made in the following Detailed Description to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a bag holder;

FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of the bag holder of FIG. 1 as viewed from above the portion of the holder.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring first to FIG. 1, a generally U-shaped body of a bag holder 100 comprises first and second centrally located bight portions 102 and 104 and legs 106 and 108. Further, an opening 110 is situated between the bight portions 102 and 104 to both lighten the overall weight of the holder 100 and to allow a limited amount of flexing of the lower bight portion 104. The limited flexing of portion 104 eases the strain on the hand of the person carrying heavy bags goods while using holder 100. A dash line 112 is representative of the base of a trough (better illustrated later in connection with FIG. 2) into which bag handles are inserted. For now attention is merely drawn to the fact that the trough becomes less deep on the sides of bag holder 100 as it extends to the base of legs 106 and 108. This trough design (ie widening at the base of the legs) aids in stability of a bag being carried. A dorsum contact or back of wrist contact 114 is attached to the generally U-shaped body of bag holder 100 by extensions designated as 116 and 118.

In FIG. 2, an opening 120 is shown in the extension 116 to lighten the weight of the holder 100. The trough previously mentioned is designated as 122 and has sides or legs designated as 124 and 126. The bight portion of trough 122 is represented by the dash line 112 in FIG. 1. A hook shaped bag retainer, tab or projection 128 is shown extending from side 124 of trough 122 to nearly the side 126 of trough 122. There is enough space so that a flexible handle of a bag can be compressed, folded, distorted or otherwise manipulated to easily allow the bag handle to be inserted into the trough 122 or removed therefrom and yet prevent the bag handle from readily becoming disengaged from the handle 100. In a preferred embodiment, a second hook, designated as 130 and shown in FIG. 3 is situated on the other side of the holder 100 near extension 118.

It may be noted that the generally U-shaped body of handle 100 is situated transverse to the generally U-shaped trough 122 in the upper and side portions of the holder 100.

In FIG. 4, it is clear, as previously mentioned in connection with FIG. 1, that the trough 122 becomes more shallow as it approaches the legs 108. Also in this figure, it may be observed that extension 118 includes an opening (undesignated) similar to opening 120.

To use the holder 100, the flexible handles of one or more bags to be carried are inserted between the ends of the projections 128 and 130 and the edge 126 of the U-shaped trough 122. The hook shape of the projections acts to minimize the chance of a bag handle accidentally being disengaged from the trough 122. The users hand is then slipped through the opening between the dorsum contact 114 and the side 124 of the trough 122 such that the users fingers contact the lower surface of bight portion 104 between the legs 106 and 108. Thus legs 106 and 108 prevent contact between the bag handle and the user's fingers. With a heavy load in plastic bags and nothing to protect the user's hand, a typical rubbing contact is at least irritating and may cause sores or cuts to appear on the user's hand.

The dorsum contact 114, in contact with the back of the user's wrist helps stabilize the load in the bags being carried.

It should be noted that while there is a space shown between the accidental bag handle removal projection 128 and the side 126 of the trough 122, this space can be reduced to zero if the projection is flexible. Further, the invention includes the option of projections or tabs extending from both sides 124 and 126 wherein the width of the opening between projections is a function of the flexibility of the projections or tabs. As may be noted, the projections need not be curved is they nearly touch another surface but are flexible enough to, under pressure, bend to allow passage of the bag handle.

If a plurality of bags, attached to the handle 100, is placed in a vehicle, the ability of the handle to keep the bags interconnected, helps minimize any rolling or other movement of the combination of bags during sudden starts and stops of the vehicle.

As briefly mentioned previously, the opening 110 not only lightens the weight of the handle 100, but also adds a small amount of flexibility to the bight portion 104. This flexibility gives some shock absorbing action to less sudden stresses to the hand when carrying packages. However, another function of opening 110, is that it can be used as a place to store used bags. One or more empty bags can be threaded through opening 104 to be conveniently available at the next use of the handle to carry objects in the bags.

Although the invention has been described with reference to a specific embodiment, the description is not meant to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiment, as well as alternative embodiments of the invention, will become apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to the description of the invention. It is therefore contemplated that the claims will cover any such modifications or embodiments that fall within the true scope and spirit of the invention. 

1. A plastic grocery bag holder comprising: main support means; groove means in a upper portion of the main support means forming a substantially U-shaped transverse cross section for the width of the main support means, the groove means providing a support surface for shopping bag handles; retention means situated at the upper ends of the legs of said U-shaped portion of said groove means whereby a shopping bag handle can pass said retention means and be inserted into said groove, said retention means acting to prevent bag handles from accidentally falling out of said groove; a U-shaped finger enclosing portion comprising a lower portion of said main support means whereby the legs of the U-shaped finger enclosing portion prevent irritation of one or more of the fingers, or the hand, when a shopping bag is being carried and further whereby a cross-section of the U-shaped finger enclosing portion is transverse to a cross-section of the U-shaped portion of the groove means; and back of wrist support means extending from said main support means for helping to balance a load comprising one or more balky item contained in one or more shopping bags attached to said bag holder.
 2. In a holder for attachment to a bag having at least one carrying loop, said holder including an elongated body terminating in opposed ends, said body being formed with a substantially U-shaped transverse cross section having upwardly extending side walls terminating in edges defining a loop receiving channel on an open upwardly facing side of said body and a manually engageable gripping surface on a downwardly facing side of said body, the improvement in said holder comprising: bag handle retention means formed near at least one of said opposed ends, said retention means including at least one projection cantilevered inwardly from one side wall of said loop receiving channel whereby a small space occurs between the end of said projection and the other side wall of said loop receiving channel, the small space defining a loop receiving opening therebetween, said projection resisting accidental removal of said loop from said loop receiving channel; and downward extensions of said elongated body on each end of said engageable gripping surface operating to shield a hand of a person using said holder from irritation by the carrying loop of a bag.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 comprising in addition: a generally U-shaped extension of said body for enclosing and contacting the dorsum of the hand when a bag is being carried; said bag handle retention means comprising projections at opposite ends of handle body; and the bight portion of said loop receiving channel angled slightly outward from vertical at the sides of said handle in the area enclosing the carrying hand when the holder is being used to carry bags of objects.
 4. A shopping package carrying hand grip replaceably attachable to at least one of hand straps of a package, a string of a tied package and a rope of a tied package, that prevents injury to a palm and/or fingers of a shopper when the shopper is carrying the package regardless if said shopping package carrying hand grip is rotated longitudinally, comprising: a one-piece body including a partially enclosed hand grip on a lower surface thereof and a generally U-shaped groove on an upper surface thereof wherein the groove provides a contact surface for said at least one of hand straps, string, and rope; and a pair downwardly curved projections, located near the end of the legs of the U-shaped groove and extending inwardly to form a nearly complete enclosure in the area of the projections while allowing insertion of at least one of hand straps, string, and rope into said nearly complete enclosure whereby said at least one of hand straps, string, and rope may contact the groove.
 5. The hand grip of claim 4 comprising, in addition: an opening in said one-piece body, said opening providing shock absorber relief between the hand grip lower portion and the bag handle groove on the upper portion.
 6. A handguard for carrying plastic shopping bags comprising: a generally U-shaped main support means including a hand contact lower portion within the bit portion of the U-shaped main support means; a trough in a upper portion of the generally U-shaped main support means, a lower surface of the trough providing a support surface for at least one shopping bag handle; at least one flexible tab located near one edge of the trough and extending toward the other edge of the trough to form a nearly complete enclosure in the area of the tab while allowing insertion of any shopping bag handles into said substantially complete enclosure whereby inserted shopping bag handles may contact the lower surface of the trough, said at least one flexible tab, while in a normal position, preventing release of any shopping bag handle from said trough.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6 comprising in addition: a generally U-shaped extension of said main support means for contacting the dorsum of the hand when at least one bag is being carried; and said flexible tab being formed in the shape of a curved hook to aid in retention of bag handles while said holder is in use.
 8. The apparatus of claim 6 comprising in addition: an opening for storing bags in said main support means. 